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It has been a violent summer in DC after a series of hate crimes against trans women. This past Saturday a trans woman was found dead and while it is unclear still who she is or if she was murdered–police have said it looks like she suffered trauma to her face. This is scary and infuriating.

Jason Terry, an organizer with the DC Trans Coalition, told Metro Weekly that police called him around 6:15 a.m. this morning to tell him that a transgender woman was involved in the incident, which took place in the 2600 block of 11th Street NW, just south of Fairmont Street.

Officer A. Clay, a spokesman for the MPD’s public information office, said a death had been reported from the incident, but has not been classified as a homicide. Clay said the matter was still under investigation.

Terry told Metro Weekly that the victim had been taken to the hospital, pronounced dead and taken to the medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of death. As of 2 p.m. on Sept. 10, Terry said he still did not know the identity of the victim or the cause of death.

The DC Trans Coalition has been hard at work trying to contact any trans women in the area to stay safe.

Violence against trans women does not only exist as individual hatred or bias-motivated crime. It comes in many forms and for many reasons. Trans women are systematically placed in circumstances where we are more likely than others to experience multiple forms of violence. In order to end violence against trans women, it is important to understand that more than just personal prejudices are at fault. Other kinds of oppression like racism, laws like the criminalization of sex work, economic forces like poverty and gentrification, and many other forces are also at play.

While we may not know the details of this case yet, the point still stands that trans women (and specifically trans women of color) are a particularly vulnerable population to violence and other forms of oppression due to economic, cultural, geographic and social factors.

We can maybe gather evidence about the different motives perpetrators have when targeting vulnerable communities–racism, sexism, homophobia or they are just angry maladjusted people with a combination of hatreds. But what causes an increase in violence towards a particular group? DC has shown an increase in hate crimes against trans women and a solution might start with figuring out what socio-economic and/or cultural factors are playing into that in DC.

Last week, Monica Potts wrote a piece in The New Republic initially entitled “Trans Activism is Threatening Women’s Colleges’ Mission: Campus fights to erase references to women are indistinguishable from old-school misogyny” and then, after lots of pushback, changed to: “Why Women’s Colleges Still Matter in the Age of Transactivism.”

Regardless of the new headline, the piece does indeed argue that trans activism is threatening the mission of women’s colleges. The sum total of the evidence amassed to support this assertion is theNew York Times Magazine article from last year about trans men at Wellesley demanding recognition and the fact that students at Mount Holyoke cancelled a production of The Vagina Monologues last month, deciding that it ...

Last week, Monica Potts wrote a piece in The New Republic initially entitled “Trans Activism is Threatening Women’s Colleges’ Mission: Campus fights to erase references to women are indistinguishable from old-school misogyny” and then, after lots ...

This week we were thrilled to speak with the incredible MMA fighter and advocate Fallon Fox!

Fallon Fox began training as a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter in 2008, went pro, and is now the first openly trans athlete in her sport. She has spoken out about the importance of supporting trans athletes on and off the field. And she herself continues to overcome prejudice and ignorance, especially through her awesome 5:1:0 record.

And now without further ado, the Feministing Five with Fallon Fox!

Suzanna Bobadilla: Thank you so much for speaking with us today. To get started, could you first describe how you started competing in women’s Mixed Martial Arts fighting?

Fallon Fox: I was in an average workout gym, and there ...

This week we were thrilled to speak with the incredible MMA fighter and advocate Fallon Fox!

Fallon Fox began training as a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter in 2008, went pro, and is now the first openly ...

So, I don’t want to be the person that overly criticizes something that has potential to be net-positive to the world of social justice — but I think the new NFL domestic violence PSA, set to air during the Super Bowl this coming Sunday, represents a missed opportunity.

The ad is powerful. It comes out of the League’s No More campaign, an attempt to address the issue of domestic violence after the backlash the league received for its handling of charges brought against a number of NFL players, most notably former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. In just a minute, we hear the voice of a woman calling 911 Emergency and pretending to place a pizza order ...

So, I don’t want to be the person that overly criticizes something that has potential to be net-positive to the world of social justice — but I think the new NFL domestic violence PSA, set ...